Boston Bruins fans erupted with racist and vulgar language towards Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban after he scored the winning goal in Game 1.
Bruins fans are treated to an Original Six matchup against the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 1 proved even more special since it was hard fought and went into double overtime… FREE HOCKEY.
CBS Detroit did a summary of the incredibly offensive tweets and you can view them here.
Boston Bruins great and President Cam Neely denounced the tweets and reactions.
“The racist, classless views expressed by an ignorant group of individuals following Thursday’s game via digital media are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization,” Neely said in a statement issued by the team. Game 2 is Saturday.
Bruins players echoed Neely’s sentiment and are clearly just as disgusted with the tweets.
“It’s very disappointing things were said on Twitter,” forward Brad Marchand said. “There’s no need, at any point in time, to be racist, and obviously no one in this room or the organization feels that way, and it’s very disappointing. Obviously, we have to apologize for that coming from our fans, but hopefully there will be no more of that stuff.”
Added forward Milan Lucic: “It’s very, very disappointing to hear that. I did hear about it after the game late last night. It’s really sad that people do something like that. That’s why I’m not a big fan of Twitter and social media, because it is such a dangerous thing. To criticize someone about something that has nothing to do with hockey on an issue like that is very ignorant and stupid.”
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh even took time to condemn the comments.
“This is a disgrace. These racist comments are not reflective of Boston and are not reflective of Bruins fans,” Walsh said. “I’ve said before that the best hockey in the world happens when the Bruins and Canadiens play each other, and there is no room for this kind of ignorance here. Yesterday [Montreal] Mayor [Denis] Coderre and I made a friendly wager on the series, and we closed the conversation by wishing each other the best. I would hope that fans on both sides would follow this example.”
This is not the first time Bruins fans threw racist slurs to a black hockey player. They directed them at Washington Capitals forward Joel Ward when he eliminated the Bruins from the 2011-12 playoffs.
The puck drops at 12:30 p.m. Eastern for Game 2 of the Bruins-Canadiens series.
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